Key Takeaways:
- On Friday, hundreds of Canadian soldiers boarded a plane in Poland for an exhausting but gratifying mission to assist Ukrainians fleeing the Russian assault.
- Pridmore believes that once boots are on the ground, the soldiers will be put to work right away.
- On Friday in Edmonton, some soldiers joked about their nerves, while others rested in the airport lounge before flying.
According to their commander, hundreds of Canadian soldiers boarded an aircraft in Poland on Friday for an intense but rewarding mission to assist Ukrainians fleeing Russian aggression.
According to Maj. Ryan Pridmore, a company commander of the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, the around 80 soldiers who took off from Edmonton and also+ another 20 from Trenton, Ont., will provide humanitarian assistance at receiving centers around Poland.
They’ll be supporting the Polish Territorial Defense Force for two months and a Canadian medical unit.
“All of our guys are ecstatic to be deploying,” he stated. “This is what we’ve been preparing for. This is why we are here. Our troops are ready to go into battle and start making a difference.”
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Pridmore believes that the soldiers will be put to work right away once boots are on the ground.
“When refugees arrive at the welcome centers, we have chaplains to provide spiritual advice as well as some mental health professionals,” said Pridmore, who has also worked in Afghanistan and Kuwait.
He said that several of the other soldiers have linguistic backgrounds.
He stated that Canada is willing to send an additional 50 soldiers to Poland to assist with Ukrainian refugees’ treatment, coordination, and placement.
“We have a team in place which is setting the stage, so we won’t be going in blind,” he says, “but once we get on the ground, it’ll be a pretty swift start to business.”
Since thousands of Ukrainians have been slaughtered and brutalized, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland stated in Calgary on Thursday that it is necessary to designate Russia’s occupation a genocide, as US President Joe Biden, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, have done.
Freeland cited a “chilling text” released 10 days earlier on a Russian website “that effectively layout of a plan for genocide in Ukraine, that asked for the suffering, the punishment of those who chose, in the eyes of this paper, to characterize themselves as Ukrainian incorrectly and inaccurately.”
“That necessitated the eradication of the name Ukraine,” added Freeland, also Canada’s finance minister.
As per a news release from the Department of National Defence, soldiers will also cooperate with Immigration, Refugees, as well as Citizenship Canada and “act as a liaison with the Polish Armed Forces… to support provisional residence for Ukrainians; seeking to work and study in Canada.”
Some soldiers joked about their nerves on Friday in Edmonton, while others napped in the airport lounge before traveling.
Lt. Kevin Moffat, a public affairs officer of the Canadian Armed Forces, stated, “I’ve been on many operations before where I’ve witnessed guys go out the door overseas.” “This 1 hit close to home for many folks since some of the task force members are of Ukrainian descent.”
“I was delighted to observe the good morale, and based on my observations, I believe the task force will be quite effective in Poland.”
Source: CTV news
